You're My Medicine
by ZooperDooper
Summary: Affairs were a tricky business. Post chap. 700.


He almost didn't want to come home.

He knew what awaited him behind that door, he suffered through this everyday. Kami did he _know_ what was about to come. He would walk through that door, and she would be there to greet him, smile the way that used to make his heart flutter, and kiss him in a way that used to make his lips tingle.

She loved him. Hinata loved him like a wife was expected to love her husband. And it killed him inside.

Because he didn't love her like a husband was supposed to. Perhaps he had at one point, when Bolt was only a couple years old and Hinata was pregnant with Himawari, that was the happiest time he could remember.

Naruto loved his children with his whole being, they were the light of his life. But sometimes he couldn't help but regret starting his family so early, Bolt had been an unexpected surprise in their new marriage, and while they were excited for his arrival into this world, they were still so young. Naruto being only 21 at the time.

He wished he knew when their marriage had gone wrong, maybe it was when he was declared Hokage, or perhaps it was even before then. Kami he didn't know, and it kept him awake at night.

He shook himself from his elongated thoughts and turned the brass doorknob, which had since grown warm in his hand. She was there just as he expected, a hamper of dirty laundry in her arms. Her wide, expressive eyes smiling at him more than her lips ever could.

"You're home early," she chirped and danced over to peck his lips. The hamper full of clothes worked as a sort of barrier between their bodies, and her lips only managed to just graze his before he pulled away. The rejection was clear on her face, so he smiled shakily to help relieve some of her distress.

"Yeah, sorry it's been an…exhausting day. Paperwork, meetings, Bolt…all that." Her face cleared like the sun breaking through storm clouds.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry you've had such a tiresome day, but you're home now, so let's not think of it."

She dropped the hamper and took his hand, smiling at him before leading him into the dining room where Himawari was arranging flowers. She greeted him with a wide smile & excitable wave, to which he mimicked before quickly kissing the top of her head.

This was almost routine to him now, he would come home in the early evenings to be escorted into the dining room. Hinata had memorized his schedule and would always make sure dinner wasn't far behind his arrival.

"Where's Bolt?" He inquired quizzically, so used to his son's loud presence in his ear.

"Oh, Inojin swooped him away for an impromptu sleep over. I think he managed to kidnap Sarada as well, or she invited herself along, whichever," she laughed and placed three plates on the table.

Dinner was a relatively quiet affair, with the absence of Bolt's energy and Naruto tied up in his thoughts, conversation was small except for the odd comment from Hinata.

When everyone was finished Himawari ventured upstairs to take a bath while Naruto & Hinata stayed back to wash the dishes.

"Sakura-san stopped by today," Hinata murmured, trying to draw out a proper reaction from him rather than a few grunts. It worked, Naruto perked up and turned his full attention to his wife.

"Did she look okay? What did she want?"

Hinata hesitated before answering, "She seemed a little down, I mean, Sasuke-kun has been away for a few weeks now and I think she's missing him."

Sakura. Sasuke. He'd barely seen them since they were all so busy with their separate lives. The last time he really spoke to Sakura was a few weeks ago when they bumped into each other outside the hospital, it had been sufficiently awkward since they had no clue what to say to each other now. He saw Sasuke more often than he saw her, and he was in and out of the village like it was a revolving door.

"Ah," he replied, his heart aching a little at the thought of her sadness. Her downtrodden face brought him to his knees just as much as her fists could.

"I think you should go see her." _That_ certainly got his attention.

"Huh?!" He sputtered. "Now?"

Hinata nodded. "It saddens me to see you two so…civil. It's like you're strangers, after everything you've been through together to just, not speak is…discouraging."

She was right of course, Sakura was always an inspirational part of his life and he wanted nothing more than to mend the gap between them. But he didn't know if he could. He was afraid that if they opened up to each other again, he might begin to see her as something more than a friend. Because, even after all these years, there was always something there between them, lurking beneath the surface.

"You're right," he sighed, and the smile that lit her face made him feel almost guilty. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead, trying to summon up the love he should feel for her, but the only thing he felt was strong affection.

"I'll go now before it gets too late," he said to himself before adding on, "thanks, Hinata."

His heart was pounding irregularly before he even walked out of his house, and each step closer to Sakura's house was like a needle stab to that already too sensitive organ.

Sasuke & Sakura lived on the other side of the village, closer to the Uchiha compound. Sasuke refused to take up residence in his old home, it held too many memories for him.

Before he knew it, Naruto was standing just outside her door, his hand poised to knock but knuckles had yet to touch the smooth wooded surface. His palms were clammy, and a small trickle of sweat ran down the side of his face. He didn't know why he was so nervous, this was _Sakura_.

He shook his head and went to knock, but was beaten to it when the door was forcefully pulled open by the woman in question.

Age had only been good to Sakura, her face had matured but still maintained that youthful roundness, her skin was porcelain perfect and no doubt soft to the touch. But the biggest change were her eyes, those once emerald orbs that held such fire & life had dimmed and been replaced with a wise glint. She still had such a temper, but she no longer had fits of violent rage.

"You've been standing outside my door for five minutes, leaking chakra like a running tap," she said bluntly, a twinkle of humour in her eyes.

The change was immediate, one second he had been Uzumaki Naruto, husband, father & Hokage, standing on the doorstep of his former teammate, Uchiha Sakura. The next second he was Uzumaki Naruto, standing on the doorstep of Haruno Sakura.

"Always so cruel, Sakura-chan! Aren't you going to invite me in?" He had never ditched the suffix tagged onto the end of her name, and he wouldn't stop even if he wanted to.

"Hmm," she hummed, placing a finger against her lips as if in deep thought. His eyes followed the movement and Naruto found himself wondering how her lips would feel pressed against his. He gulped.

"I brought wine," he offered weakly, holding up the bottle to which she snatched up right away.

"Take off your shoes, I don't want you tracking dirt through my house."

Naruto followed her, his eyes drinking in their surroundings. He'd only been in their house a handful of times, and it changed each time he came around. There were a few pictures of Sarada hung on the walls, a few of Sakura and he smugly caught a glimpse of some no doubt candid shots of Sasuke glaring at the camera.

He took a seat on the sofa while Sakura went to snatch up two glasses. He felt like a stranger in this house, like he was intruding on some private moment.

She returned and promptly filled both their glasses up to the brim. It seemed they were both under the impression that this would go a lot smoother with alcohol. They both knew what was coming, the attempted reconciliation of their friendship.

"So," she started.

"So," he repeated.

"This is ridiculous," she suddenly exploded. "What happened to us? We used to be so close, and now its like…"

"Now its like we barely know each other," he finished. "I don't know, Sakura-chan. I really don't."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the gap between them on the sofa wasn't very big yet it felt like an ocean separated them. He turned to her, eyes surveying the crease between her eyebrows. The look she always got when she was trying to solve a difficult equation.

"Have you seen Gaara's hairstyle? It looks like he slicks it back with mud," Naruto blurted out. The silence was unnerving him, so he just said the first thing that came to mind.

Sakura stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide with barely concealed shock before a loud bellowing laugh escaped her. He joined her moments later.

"Goodness, Naruto," Sakura wheezed when her bellows had died down to a few chuckles.

"It's no wonder he's still single, he couldn't land a lady with that atrocity on his head!" Sakura smacked his arm for that comment but her eyes betrayed her mirth.

Hours passed and the two of them had polished off two bottles of wine, reminiscing about the old days and trading stories about their lives. For some reason they didn't dare broach the topic of their separate marriages, both content to keep the conversation light-hearted.

Eventually they stopped talking, Sakura was twirling her wine glass between her fingers, a peaceful expression on her face, and Naruto couldn't help but stare, his heart lighter than it had been in years.

"Sasuke-kun and I are getting a divorce."

He wasn't as shocked as he should've been, maybe it was the constant absence of Sasuke but he saw this coming a mile away.

"I'm not in love with Hinata anymore," he confessed.

"Our lives are fucked," she chuckled humourlessly and raised her empty wine glass. "To lost dreams and wasted years."

He didn't know what happened. One minute they were toasting to their unhappy marriages, and the next he had Sakura pinned down underneath him as their lips explored one another.

Yes, her lips were as soft as he imagined.

His hand slid down the length of her spine and hovered just above her ass. His mind was hazy thanks to the alcohol but he wasn't about to escalate this further without Sakura's full permission.

Sakura, on the other hand, could feel the hesitation in his actions. She was all too aware of the space between their bodies, the _tameness_ of their kiss. She wanted more, she _needed_ more.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, and flipped them over on the sofa, using her superior strength to pin him down. She watched the shock in his eyes dissolve into raw, unconstrained lust.

Her lips found his again as her hand began to roam the contours of his chest. She could feel the solid muscle ripple beneath her palms and it made a shudder run through her body.

Everything was moving so fast she didn't even register when her shirt was ripped off until his hands were all over her, memorizing the slope of her curves and the feel of her hardened nipples scrape against his palms. He flipped them over again, and this time there was no distance between them.

He removed his shirt with vigour, careful not to rip anything lest Hinata get suspicious.

Hinata.

The thought of his wife, waiting faithfully for him at home cleared some of the haze separating him from rational thought. His actions slowed before coming to a halt completely.

"Tell me to stop, Sakura-chan," he rasped, "and I'll stop. We can pretend this never happened, live our lives and never think of this again." His words lacked conviction, and she could hear it.

"What if I don't want to stop," she whispered, "we never had our happy ending, Naruto. What if…What if we found it with each other. Tonight."

She shouldn't be encouraging this. Sakura was always the voice the reason and what they were doing…well it was completely without reason. But this was Sakura, the woman who he had once loved more deeply than anyone.

He felt his self control melt into her. "Okay," he murmured as he trailed kisses down her stomach until he reached the waistband of her sweat pants.

"I could never deny you anyway," he breathed against her skin as his fingers slithered underneath the material and slowly pulled off the article of clothing.

"You're such a tease," she growled and guided his lips to meet hers in a searing kiss. She yanked off her own panties and made quick work of his pants, not wanting to continue this foreplay any longer. His laugh melted into a throaty moan as Sakura pushed her hips up to grind against his.

"Where's Sarada?" He hissed as he positioned himself right at her entrance. He knew she wasn't here, but he wanted to be 100% sure before they continued.

"Not here."

He felt like he would explode if he waited any longer, but he cupped her face and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Are you sure?"

A tender smile would dawn across Sakura's face as she nodded, "More than anything."

And then he was inside her.

Never had he imagined they would be reunited like this, moving as one in a fit of passion. No, his life with Hinata was tame, nothing unexpected ever happened to them and their little family.

But with Sakura, it just consumed him. Every second he was with her, his heart would swell and all the darkness would be sucked away. There was once a time she was his everything, and he thought he had moved on from her when he married another woman but no. His feelings were just dormant, they needed to be reawakened.

And right now, as he moved inside her, as their moans filled the room, he could honestly and totally say:

"I love you."

Emerald orbs would lock with oceanic blue, and the words would leave her lips before she had time to think about the consequences,

"I love you too."


End file.
